July 2017

When she mentioned that the theme this year would be ‘Home’, I knew right away what my talk would be: ‘How to turn your home into a pop-up restaurant’.

This was immediately followed by something along the lines of ‘A TED talk? Oh, but I couldn’t possibly do that!’, until the following day…

At the Leamington Hour Live networking group Kimberley and Craig, two of the organisers in charge of TEDx Leamington Spa, gave a talk all about this year’s event.

They explained that the application process was to submit a video describing the subject of your talk in 20 words or less, and the deadline was only a few days away!

As soon as I got home from this event, before I could loose my nerve, I asked Joel to film me on my phone presenting my idea from our kitchen, and the following day I submitted my application:

August 2017

When the feedback email arrived in my mailbox I could see the first few words of the text: ‘After reviewing all the applications…’ and I thought to myself ‘Oh, that’s a no, isn’t it?’, so I was even more surprised and delighted when I opened the email to find that I had been accepted as a speaker!

Of course, I couldn’t tell anyone until it was officially announced. It was only a matter of weeks but it seemed like ages. In the meantime, I provided my written bio and two photos, as well as some video footage taken at Kitchenorium by a friend earlier in the year:

September 2017

Hooray! In early September my Speaker Announcement went out on social media. Here is how it looked on Facebook:

As the subject of my talk ‘How to turn your home into a pop-up restaurant’ is based on the social dining events which we host at our home in Leamington Spa, it was decided that my talk would be filmed in advance at a specially organised Kitchenorium event.

In preparation for being filmed, I attempted the 10 day video challenge set by Gary from Leamington Hour. The idea was to record a short video everyday for ten days and post them on social media. I managed to do seven videos and they weren’t on consecutive days, but it did help me to feel more confident when the film crew arrived at our TEDx Leamington Spa event. Here is my favourite of the seven:

October 2017

After weeks of planning and anticipation, the day of filming arrived, along with some nervousness!

The house filled up with eight specially invited dinner guests and six members of the filming team. We served a two course Italian menu with vegetarian option, and it was all caught on camera:

Just a few days later it was the Speaker Mixer – an opportunity to get together with the other speakers, performers, organisers, speaker coaches and volunteers. There was a bring-and-share buffet so I took along some of my famous chocolate brownies:

November 2017

Two weeks before the big day, the Dress Rehearsal was held in the event venue, and this was my first chance to see the video which had been edited from all that footage into a 5 minute documentary. It was an odd feeling watching myself up on a big screen, but also exhilarating!

Inspired by the ‘Home’ exhibition at local art gallery Slate, held in conjunction with TEDx Leamington Spa, I recorded a few videos on the topic of #HomeIsWhereTheArtIs and here is my favourite of these:

During the last 24 hours before the big day I was occupied with printing and folding Kitchenorium flyers to go into the event goody bags, and then helping out with filling the goody bags full of fabulous stuff:

WeFiFo Host Ratings

Kitchenorium’s Rating Scores

On WeFiFo hosts are rated on four criteria: food, vibe, contact and value. Until recently only the first three were displayed on the host’s profile, but this month it was updated to include the forth one – value.

My highest score is in the value rating at 4.9/5 and this can now be seen on my profile:

The combination of marmalade vodka, a squeeze of fresh lime and ginger beer offers comforting flavours of seville orange and ginger on arriving in from the cold.

Amuse Bouche: Cream of Cauliflower Soup

To warm the taste buds before sitting down to dinner – a small helping of cauliflower soup, drizzled with cream, and served in little cups for ease of sipping.

Starter: Mozzarella & Citrus Fruit Salad

Slices of mozzarella alternated with pink grapefruit and orange, garnished with fresh mint and rocket, and dressed with lemon vinaigrette.

Fish: Smoked Mackerel Pate

The umph of flavour and texture from the smoked mackerel softened with a little cream cheese, lemon juice and parsley – delicious! Garnished with watercress and a twist of lemon, and accompanied by crusty homemade bread.

Veggie: Creamy Garlic Mushrooms

Sliced portabello mushrooms sauted gently with garlic, parsley and cream, served with crusty homemade bread to soak up all that flavoursome sauce.

Refresher: Pear & Cardamom Granita

Subtle, delicate, delightful.

Main: Squash, Sage & Pancetta Risotto

Roasted red kabacha squash, along with fresh sage, pancetta and a generous scattering of parmesan transforms a simple risotto into a sumptuous main dish.

Veggie: Harlequin Pie

A layered filo pastry pie with a filling of harlequin squash, chestnuts and a little mascapone, served with watercress and pea shoots.

Dessert: Stewed Plums with Cinnamon Ice-cream

Deliciously sweet and fragrant stewed plums complimented by homemade cinnamon ice-cream which softens in the warm fruit and melts in the mouth.

The crown prince squash looks similar to a pumpkin but with blue-green skin, so we came to affectionately refer to it as the zombie pumpkin! The flavour when roasted is similar to butternut but subtly distinct and works nicely with some warming spices.

Main: chilli con carne with rice

Made with fresh red chilli, roasted red chilli and a ‘walking’ scotch bonnett – you throw it into the pot whole but with string tied to the stalk so you can pull it out once the desired level of heat has been reached.

The perfect opportunity to make a dessert I have long been day-dreaming about. Using this recipe, with a few tweaks of course, the result exceeded all expectation. It was one of the most decadent, intensely chocolatey and squidgy textured desserts I’ve ever made.